2 DVDs, 5 hours total, all regions
This comprehensive 2 disc DVD package offers more than 5 hours of demonstrations, tutorials, and interviews about how to play the Afro Cuban bata drums. In Spanish with English subtitles.

The film features Master of Afro Cuban Percussion Daniel Alfonso
Herrera, the most sought after percussion instructor in Matanzas, Cuba. His clean, disciplined technique and clear, detailed explanations of the intricacies of Matanzas style bata drumming are invaluable for both the novice and experienced drummer.

An extract from this set
on YouTube shows an interview with the famed Esteban "Chachá" Vega Bacallao
conducted by Juan
Garcia, former director of the Conjunto Folklorico Nacional.

Fuerza del Tambor

This DVD documents the Afro Cuban folkloric ritual music of the Santeria
religion as played in Matanzas, Cuba, the region considered to be la fuente
(the source) of the Afro Cuban religions in Cuba.

Eight selections from authentic public drumming celebrations illustrate Afro
Cuban folkloric music as it is played in the religious (vs. tourist)
environment.

In addition to the traditional Lucumi bata drums, the DVD also includes rare
footage of the unique Lucumi Bembe Macagua drums and an unusual segment of Palo
Mayombe songs accompanied by Aña.

The 90-minute DVD includes:

Interviews with Alfredo Calvo, Elder of the Egwado
branch of Santeria

Drumming demonstrations of the Palo toques and the Bembe
Macagua drums

Lyric subtitles are included for all the songs.

Interviews are in Spanish with English subtitles.

Vamos al Tambor

The DVD is 90 minutes long and includes two separate presentations, both of
which were filmed live in Matanzas, Cuba.

“Three Changos” gives you an intimate view of the presentation
of three Iyawos (new initiates of the Santeria religion) to the sacred bata
drums and the community.

The presentation is done Matanzas-style and includes a complete oru
cantado (cycle of songs) to all the Orishas.

The segment culminates in a powerful call to the Orisha Chango to witness the
crowning and presentation of the new kings.

“Aña” shares the relatively rare presentation of newly
consecrated bata drums (Aña, pronounced an-yá) and drummers (Omo Aña) to the
drums that gave them birth and to the community.

Bata y Bembe de Matanzas

The CD includes a complete oru cantado (sung cycle of songs) for all
the Orishas, as sung and played during a presentation to the sacred drums in
Matanzas, Cuba.

In most cases, several songs are sung for each Orisha.

The cycle culminates in a powerful rendition of a classic song for the
warrior Orisha Chango.

The CD also includes two tracks of the sacred Lucumi Bembe Macagua drums, a
unique set of drums only heard in Matanzas, played together with the bata drums
and then alone.

Kabiosile’e new DVD, “La Fuerza del Tambor,” offers
a rare look inside the Matanzas Afro Cuban religious community and
captures a piece of history that is in danger of being lost. It features
public religious celebrations, drumming demonstrations, and interviews
with elders of the Lucumí Santeria and Palo Mayombe traditions. The DVD
includes never-before-seen footage of a unique set of Lucumi bembe
drums, called Bembe Macagua, and a rare sequence of Palo Mayombe songs
played with bata drums. It also includes more traditional examples of
the power of the drums to communicate with the African deities known as
Orishas. The film was recorded live in the home of Alfredo Calvo, widely
regarded as the most knowledgeable Santero and Palero in Matanzas.

In addition to the eight segments of live public drumming celebrations
and the two drumming demonstrations, Calvo and several other respected
members of the Matanzas Afro Cuban community are interviewed on such
topics as the relationship between Palo and the sacred bata drums and
the birth of the Bembe Macagua drums.

One of the DVD’s most valuable features is subtitles for all of the
Lucumí and Palo songs, many of which are no longer sung anywhere in
Cuba except Matanzas. Interviews are in Spanish with English subtitles.

Alfredo Calvo Prado is a priest of Agayu with more than 60 years of Ocha.
He is an Elder of the Egwado branch of the Santeria religion, of which
his godmother, Fermina Gomez (Ocha Bi), is considered the founder.
Affectionately known as El Gallo (the Rooster) for his strong,
distinctive singing voice, he is one of the most talented and
knowledgeable apóns (lead singers) in Matanzas. He is the owner of the
Aña Oba Tola bata drums heard on all of Kabiosile’s recordings, and
is an accomplished drummer in his own right. Alfredo is a highly
sought-after Oriate (the high priest of the Santeria religion who is in
charge of all rituals) and diviner with the dilogún (the cowry shells
that serve as the mouth of the Orishas).

Alfredo is also tata or high priest of Palo Mayombe. Many people come to
him for readings with the chavalongo (shells used for divination in the
Palo religion) and initiations. His enormous prenda sits alongside those
of his grandfather and great uncle, both slaves from the Congo who
brought the secrets of their prendas with them from Africa. Alfredo is
also Násaco, the highest level of initiation in the all-male Abakua
society derived from the traditions of the Caravali tribe.

Reynier Urrutia, a young drummer and singer, commented during an
interview on the DVD about teaching the next generation: “There are
still elders who say, “I don’t teach anyone, it’s all going with
me.” Compadre, no, that’s wrong. Because if you take everything with
you, no one will know…the religion will be lost.”

“La Fuerza del Tambor” is the third disc produced and distributed by
Kabiosile, an organization dedicated to the preservation and sharing of
Afro Cuban folkloric music traditions.

Kabiosile continues to generate our respect and further interest. Here they
offer a direct, honest insiders perspective of how practitioners in Cuba elicit
the attention of the orishas. Both the picture and sound are of high quality,
which is helpful to appreciate the subtleties of the sacred batá drums.
Ceremonies, in the form of cantos, güiro or bembé, are interspersed with
concise question and answer segments (filmed separately and nicely edited)
featuring some of the percussionists. It's a smart format that creates a context
for each musical segment. For the initiated or novice, this excellent quality
DVD is Highly Recommended. (BP, 2006-06-06) -- www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db